By Miranda

A group of British schoolboys, ages twelve and under, were left stranded on a

deserted tropical island in an attempt to escape the current war consuming

the continent. They were being flown to a secure location when the plane

they were on was shot down by an unidentified aircraft. With no Supervision

on the Island, The boys were faced with the difficult task of surviving on their

own, as well as surviving each other.

By the end of their stay on the island, two boys were dead. If they had been

found merely one day later, it would have been three. Jack Merridew, one of

the boys trapped on the island has recently been charged with the murder of

two of these three boys, Simon, and Piggy. He is also charged with the

attempted murder of another, named Ralph.

Shortly before the murder of these two boys, harsh feelings between Jack

and Ralph lead Jack to split from the group which Ralph was considered chief

of. He formed his own group, slowly luring the boys to follow. Simon, Piggy

and Ralph all knew what they were facing as the only ones not to join Jack's

new "tribe"

The murder of the first boy, Simon, was carried out by all but Piggy and

Ralph. A statement made by Ralph describes what happened, "We were on

the beach during a thunderstorm. All the savages (the term referring to the

boys) were dancing around their fire. Simon, came running out of the forest,

and the savages ran up and brutally attacked him stabbing him repeatedly

with their spears."

In their defense, the boys accused by Ralph claimed that they thought Simon

was a beast. They described his appearance as bloody and muddy. "We

were scared, we thought he was the beast. It was just in self defense,"

claimed Jack.

The murderer of the other boy, Piggy, will be much harder to prove. It

occurred when Piggy and Ralph went to see the other boys in an attempt to

create peace. They were received by an angry crowd. In the middle of a

speech by Piggy, an unidentified person pushed a boulder off a cliff, hitting

Piggy, killing him instantly. It is thought that a boy named Roger was the one

to actually push the rock off, but there is no evidence other than here say

behind this

After Piggy's death, Ralph was left alone and outnumbered. The other boys

went out to hunt him down. It is assumed that their intentions were to kill

him. They smoked him out of the holes he hid in. He had just about given

up all hope when he collapsed at the feet of a British naval officer. The

smoke produced when the boys set fires to force Ralph out of the holes

caught the attention of this officer.

The Trial of the people versus Jack Merridew will be held, Friday, october

twenty-fifth. Mr. Merridew is charged with the murder of Piggy and Simon,

and the attempted murder of Ralph. These will be difficult charges to prove

being that there is no evidence other than the here say of the boys. This trial

will surely stand out in years to come.

BY: Miranda Tomic

The trial of the People versus Jack Merridew was nothing short of intense.

Both sides argued substantial cases, but with so little evidence, it was hard to

prove anything.

The prosecution's opening statement laid out what they intended to prove,

which was the murder of Simon and Piggy, and attempted murder of Ralph

by Jack. The defense would try to defend their client, Jack, on the

technicalities of the case.

The only people who really knew what went on during those few months were

the boys on the island. Being that by the end of their stay, most of them

were followers of Jack, and the prosecution had a difficult time extracting

information from them.

It was clear that the death of Simon was partially Jack's fault. However, all

the boys on the Island participated in it. The defense did an outstanding job

in proving that this was an accident. The blood and mud simon was covered

in convinced the jury that they mistook him for a beast, and the jury found

Jack not guilty on this count.

The prosecution argued that Jack was indirectly guilty of Piggy's death. He did

not actually push the rock that hit and killed Piggy, but he embedded the

ideas of hatred against Piggy into the minds of his followers. The defense

disputed these allegation's in saying that the implications were not enough to

convict the defendant of murder. The jury once again agreed.

The last charge was the attempted murder of Ralph. The prosecution posed

the question that if the intentions of the boy's was not to kill Ralph, what was

the purpose in chasing him. The defense argued that Jack and his group

believed it to be a game. Expecting the jury to believe that war was

misunderstood as a game was to far of a stretch. This time the Jury ruled in

favor of the prosecution, finding Jack guilty of attempted murder.

"Survival of the fittest," is a phrase commonly heard. But what does the

"fittest" mean? Does it mean that we must be ruthless, malicious, and cruel

to our peers? These were qualities quite evident in the story of the stranded

British schoolboys. How can children who were not taught violence and

hatred, suddenly learn of them when they are left to survive alone? One is

shocked when one hears of the unnecessary death of two young and

innocent boys. Somewhere along their stay, they devolved from the little

civilization they knew into a primitive society of "savages". Soon, fire, shelter,

authority, and organization all came after food and survival. If this quote

refers to all scenarios, then it would mean survival only of the cruel and

vicious.

The words "Not Guilty, Not Guilty, Guilty." rang out in the courtroom of the

Honorable Judge Nayman October 15th, 1950. It was a bitter sweet victory

for Jack Merridew. He had won some, but not all. A fair trial was given, and

for the most part, the verdict seems fair as well. It is quite clear that jack

could not have physically injured Piggy let alone murder him. HE was standing

but three feet from him at the time of his death. As to Simon's death, yes,

technically he is guilty, but it was lucidly a mistake and the jury took this into

account in their decision. The last charge attempted murder is not so clearly

seen. One can argue Jack's intentions when he hunted him, but it is merely

speculation. To find a defendant guilty, the jury must believe it to be rue

beyond a reasonable doubt. I highly disagree that this would constitute a fair

deliberation according to this rule. There were doubts evident, and though

they were not addressed, that does not strip them of their validity. There

was hardly enough evidence to prove even one of these counts true. To

have even one of them found true is a mockery of our country's justice

system.